


Of Dragons

by MistressArafax



Series: The King's Mages [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons, M/M, Mages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-02 23:42:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21169820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressArafax/pseuds/MistressArafax
Summary: Jounouchi's constant dreams push Kaiba and Jounouchi to seek out the root cause and fix whatever is wrong that's causing them.





	Of Dragons

**Author's Note:**

> More of the mage AU.

Kaiba wasn't entirely sure how he'd gotten roped into his current situation. Sitting atop Freya, the middle sister of his three dragons, and flying north. She was rambunctious, testing him at every opportunity like a young colt. It made her a challenge to ride, though he enjoyed it. It proved his abilities.

With wind whipping around him, he glanced over at Jounouchi. Perched atop Kisara, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Kisara seemed pleased too, readily listening to his commands in a way she didn't often do for Kaiba. She clearly liked Jounouchi, which was part of why Kaiba had offered her to Jounouchi for their journey. The other part was the highly probable likelihood of Freya, intentionally or not, dropping him to his death. Jounouchi may have been a pain, but Kaiba didn't dislike him to that extent.

"We're close!" Kaiba shouted, hoping to be heard over the rush of air.

He directed his dragon to land, but Jounouchi was one step ahead of him, maneuvering Kisara toward the ground. They landed at the edge of the forest, but a safe distance from a volcano spewing smoke and shaking the earth.

"Your vision better be worth something," Kaiba grumbled as he slid to the ground.

"The dream never changes. There's somethin' I need to do in a cavern about halfway up."

Mount Rex stood in the far north, two kingdoms away from Domino, and surrounded by ice except for where smoke and magma poured from it. It was formidable in stature, and Kaiba did not look forward to trekking up the steep face. But Jounouchi hadn't been able to let it go. His dreams had become more and more insistent, as well as his requests to Kaiba to go. Kaiba had relented solely because he knew Jounouchi would seek the king's permission of he didn't agree. The king would grant it and send Kaiba with Jounouchi regardless. He didn't see any reason to deny the request with Jounouchi growing more desperate daily and knowing he'd inevitably be the one sent anyway.

Sweat trickled down Kaiba's brow as they ascended the slope. Jounouchi had pushed ahead with single-minded purpose, and Kaiba followed after him. He let the cool ice chill his veins as they hiked. He hated to be hot. His magic made it so he rarely was. He could lower the temperature around him whenever the heat outside was too much to bear, which was proving useful as he avoided streams of magma flow.

About halfway up the mountain, Jounouchi cut into the cavern, moving on instinct, and Kaiba struggled to follow after him. "Is this thing going to erupt soon?" Kaiba asked 

"Soon," Jounouchi said. "But my vision said it won't until I'm done with what I need to do."

"Then we better hurry," Kaiba insisted.

Jounouchi nodded and rushed deeper into the cavern, and Kaiba stayed close behind him, not wanting to lose him in the twisting, desolate halls. It didn't take long until the arrived where they were headed. Kaiba stood, mouth agape at the obsidian black dragon lying on the floor of the cavern, taking long, heaving breaths.

"She's dying," Jounouchi said sadly.

"We can save her," Kaiba said confidently.

"No, we can't. She's mortally injured and has no strength."

Kaiba scowled, wiping the sweat from his upper lip, and trying to refocus on creating a cool envelope of air around himself. "There's got to be a way."

"She was calling for me. She's the source of the dreams I've been havin."

Which made sense. He had a special connection with a dragon who had reached out to him for help. "Can you understand her?" Kaiba asked. There was a mental connection clearly. He had it with his Blue-Eyes, though they rarely spoke to him more than just demanding food.

"Enough," Jounouchi returned. "Enough to know she wants me to care for her hatchling."

Kaiba surveyed the cavern, eyes falling into a tiny dragon hatchling, as black as its mother with eyes shining bright read. Stick thin, too, from a lack of food as it's mother was injured. Jounouchi walked up to the adult dragon cautiously, stroking her nose as she snorted steam at him. "Your fire won't hurt me," he said, lighting a torch in his hand. The dragon settled, relaxing against Jounouchi's touch.

Kaiba watched on in fascination. Watching a human interact with a wild dragon was a rarity. Dragons not born in captivity and raised around humans were very likely to lash out and kill a nearby human. But this dragon was content at Jounouchi's presence. Even with sweat rolling down his back at the searing heat of the volcano, Kaiba appreciated the rarity of what he was witnessing.

The ground rolled beneath his feet, the impending eruption making itself more obvious. "Are you sure we can't save her?" Kaiba asked softly.

"She can't move, Kaiba," Jounouchi said. "She's accepted her death."

"Then we should go. Before we have to accept ours, as well."

Jounouchi nodded, giving the dragon one final pet. "I'll take good care of her," he promised the dragon. Turning, he bent down and picked up the hatchling. Small and weak, it didn't bother to struggle. It curled up in his arms, seeming content to be with Jounouchi. With the floor of the cavern shaking beneath them, they hurried on their way.

-

They made it to the base of the mountain as more magma poured from the volcano. Kisara and Freya perked up when they got near, but they were especially interested in the hatchling in Jounouchi's arms. They cocked their heads to the side to get a better look, sniffing the air and snorting.

Kaiba frowned at them. "You can socialize later. We need to get out of here."

"Do ya got any food?" Jounouchi asked. "The baby's hungry."

Kaiba pulled open his pack, retrieving a small hock of dried meat and handing it to Jounouchi. "This should suffice until we get home."

Nodding, Jounouchi scrambled onto Kisara's back. She gave the small black dragon with red eyes a dubious look, but Jounouchi patted her and told her it would be fine. "You two will get along great. I promise."

Kisara chirped, seemingly agreeing, and Jounouchi motioned to Kaiba that he was ready. They eased the dragons off the ground, heading back up into the sky filled with the ash spewing from the volcano. Kaiba appreciated the reprieve from the heat, but the drying sweat on his back made him shiver. 

He glanced at Jounouchi, who held the small dragon in his lap, stroking her head and feeding her small pieces of meat. He was completely enamored with the thing, and Kaiba couldn't blame him. Mages often kept familiars, and a dragon was a powerful and awe-inspiring one to have. Like Kaiba himself, it alluded to his power and skill. Dragons didn't bond with and serve just anyone. It made him respect Jounouchi anew. His blonde student had been full of surprises, but this was new. Dreams that were a dying dragon's plea for help. Jounouchi taking on the duty without complaint. There was more he had to teach Jounouchi about controlling his powers before he earned his rank as a King's mage, but Kaiba knew Jounouchi would put his duty first and would fight to do the right thing. This entire trip had taught him as much, and there were no traits quite as important as those.

**Author's Note:**

> This is for KaiJou week 2019. I was a bit late with this one, but here we are. The prompt was "doing something hot", and what's hotter than visiting a volcano?


End file.
